Bows & Bullets Book Blog

When this arrived, I thought I would die of excitement. I had no idea it was coming so when I opened the package and saw this book I literally started jumping and screaming and I really think my husband thought I 'd lost my mind. The gif below pretty much says it all.


::stares dumbfounded at the computer screen:: Wow, just wow. I don't know whether to celebrate that the series had a great ending or to fall to the floor crying because it's over. X_X


This book is amazing. Seriously, you have to read it. If you have read the other 2 books, then this is a must. If not, then WHY THE HELL HAVEN’T YOU? Go buy the first one, NOW.

Whew, now that’s out of my system, I can get down to business. This story follows Aura and Zachary in their last adventure to discover the truth behind what caused the Shift. They go up against everyone from government agencies to trained assassins to crazy cult people who want to sacrifice them. Here is the only spoiler I intend to give you about this novel, they do end the Shift. It definitely doesn’t occur the way anyone expects it to, myself included. It was an awesome thrill ride and I am more than a little sad that it is over. It kind of makes me wish I would have draw out the read a little more instead of reading for every spare second for 2 days straight because I couldn’t stop. This is definitely one of those books that you make time to read.

The one big thing that I learned while reading this novel is that I am definitely Team Logan. I was pretty sure I was on his team before I started, even though I really do like Zachary too, but this one really solidified that fact for me. For all of you who want another glimpse of him, you’ll only get it in flashbacks and a brief letter because he really did pass on at the end of Shift. That is what made me realize it. As much as I love Zachary, I missed Logan’s presence. As did Aura, which is something I liked as well. Instead of her just moving on, she still grieves over him a bit and knows that part of her will always love him. She thinks of him at the most inappropriate moments, sometimes even while she is with Zach. And Zach, being the wonderful guy he is, doesn’t get angry with her. He is just so caring and tries to help her through it. Damn….am I sure I am Team Logan?

Yep, I definitely am. Hot rocker with an Irish heritage who curses like a fucking sailor and loved Aura so much that he got her named tattooed across his chest? Yes ma’am that’s for me. Sorry Zachary.

I think it goes without saying that the characters (and their development) is great. They all seemed so real to me. They still do in fact, while they are wondering around in my skull. None of them have that over the top perfection thing that a lot of YA characters have going on. They make mistakes, they get into trouble, but they always do what they think is best and they always give it everything they’ve got, so what more could you ask for? [a:Jeri Smith-Ready|56019|Jeri Smith-Ready|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1204922569p2/56019.jpg] is very talented at fleshing her characters out and making them life like (and not just in this book, her WVMP Radio series is just as amazing). She also is very talented at making you feel her characters pain. Within this entire series, I could truly feel Aura’s grief and despair over every horrible thing that was happening, right along with her excitement and joy over every good thing that happened. But the pain part stands out to me, because it seems much unlikely for me to fall into a depression over something that has happened to a character in a novel than it does to see me smile about something that happened to her.

For all of those teens out there looking for smut, you’ll find a decent bit in here. Kudos to Jeri for not shying away from teen sex. It isn’t super graphic, but it was definitely well written and super steamy (if any of you are looking for even more steam, go check out Wicked Game by her because the scenes in there are so damn steamy, you’ll overheat. Damn, I sound like a fucking advertisement. Seriously, if you liked this series, you’ll probably like it. It is amazing so GO.BUY.IT. NOW GODDAMMIT!). I enjoyed seeing Aura & Zachary’s relationship grow and watch them struggle to hold it together while they were in different countries.

I just can’t say enough about this book. Or this series. Mrs Smith-Ready deserves an award for the simple reason that she made me love this love triangle when I abhor love triangles (almost as much as I hate cliffhangers). This series has been one that has stayed with me. Generally, a few months after I finish a book, I do well to remember the characters names and maybe some of the very basic plot, whereas with this series, even before I started reading Shine, I could still see the story very clearly in my head. I’d be driving somewhere and a song would come on the radio and it would make me think of them. Like the first time I heard The Ghost Of You by My Chemical Romance after reading this, I couldn’t stop crying because it made me think of Logan & Aura so much. It’s the same with Chasing Cars & Run by Snow Patrol (which are both on the Shade playlist on Jeri’s website). The song that makes me think of Shine is Set The Fire To The Third Bar by Snow Patrol. It just seems to fit the story perfectly. I hope everyone else enjoys this as much as I did.

****Thank you to Simon & Schuster for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review****